Goals
One of the main goals of Somatic Coaching is to help our clients reach their goals. Most of us have one or more goals at any one time that we strive to achieve. These may be as varied as wanting to lose weight or improve the relationship with our spouse or becoming a better leader or communicator. As the untold numbers of failed New Year’s resolutions attest to, consistently reaching our goals is extremely challenging for most of us. Even for those lucky individuals who tend to reach their goals, there maybe a few that for some unclear reason stay just out of reach no matter how mightily one tries.
What it takes
Goal achievement is a function of being able to have the vision of what one wants to achieve, the planning ability to organize and strategize, the ability to communicate and collaborate with others, and finally, to have the drive to execute.
Build new neural pathways
Each and every one of these phases requires a different behavioral pattern, a distinct way of being, a specific emotional context, a particular energetic and action pattern, all of which must be generated and anchored in the body to be consistently available. The generation of coordinated behavioral patterns happens primarily in the brain. Through consistent and focused practice, the neural pathways are built that allow for easy access to the practiced behaviors. In a virtuous cycle of practice and use in different circumstances, those neural pathways become more and more sophisticated and automated.
Embody your goal
The anchoring -and therefore embodiment– of the behavioral pattern occurs through a heightened awareness of one’s bodily sensations and associated movement- and postural habits. This embodiment serves the purpose of signaling both to oneself and one’s social environment a particular way of being that facilitates access to the goal-focused neural pathway in oneself and in others. This is an extremely powerful way to recruit others into a behavioral pattern that aids achievement of one’s goals. Lest readers interpret this as a form of manipulation; please consider that we can’t help but constantly influence and be influenced to some extent by the moods and embodiments of everybody around us. Your embodiment can be disorganized or angry or threatening, on the one hand, or focused and goal-oriented on the other hand. Either way, your social environment will pick-up on, and be influenced by whatever you put out.
How we do it
In Expressive Somatic Coaching we help our clients, identify their goal(s) specifically enough to be able to build neural pathways that support the actions and energetic- and embodiment patterns required to reach their goal(s). We build a practice that allows the client to consistently and in a timely manner tap into the intelligence of the body. This process takes commitment, practice and focus but is well worth the effort.
What are you practicing?
Ultimately, we are always practicing something -consciously or not. It is your choice if your practice helps you reach your life goals… or not. What you practice is what you become and what you become determines your ability to reach your life goals. A somatic coach can help you identify your patterns, your goals and support your new practices to become and achieve that what you desire. It will be the best time, effort and money that you’ve ever spent!
As always; I am looking forward to hearing from you. Comments, critiques, experiences are all welcome.